IT IS essentially understood, based on what Christ himself said, that Judas had chosen his final destiny. Jesus says of Iscariot, "it would be better for that man if he had not been born." And again in reference to Judas, "is not one of you a devil?"

However, it wasn’t only Judas who betrayed Christ: all of them fled from the garden. And then Peter denied Christ three times.

But they all repented… and thus Christ’s first words to them after He rose from the dead were, "Peace be with you." Judas on the other hand did not repent; after betraying Life, he then took his life. Christ would have forgiven him, offering the kiss of peace to absolve the kiss of betrayal. But Judas did not convert, and thus, "it would have been better if he had not been born."

Could I possibly betray Christ like Judas, and lose my salvation? Yes, this is possible, because like Judas, I too have free will. But if I do not despair–if I turn my heart back to Christ as Peter did–love and mercy will receive me back more quickly than I had sinned.

Money is more important than communion with Jesus, it is more important than God and his love. In this way, [Judas] becomes hard and incapable of conversion, of the confident return of the prodigal son, and throws away his destroyed life.” (Pope Benedict XVI on Judas; Zenit News Agency, April 14th, 2006)